My aunts like to make iced tea by boiling water and adding a bunch of tea bags. After they steep, they pour the concentrated tea over a pitcher filled with ice. It is probably better to let the hot tea cool a bit before you add it to the icy pitcher. I do, because I don't want the rapid change in temperature to crack the glass pitcher.
Snapple is delicious, but can get expensive. It is currently peach season, so I bought a bunch and sacrificed a few to the iced tea I wanted to make.
The first batch of iced tea, I used one peach. The tea was insufficiently peachy. The second batch I made was with two peaches and was peachier. Because I was trying to keep this low calorie, in order to eat high calorie other stuff, I used Splenda to sweeten the tea.
Peach Tea
3 cups water
2 peaches, roughly chopped.
6 bags Red Rose Tea, or tea of your choice
1/2 cup Splenda
ice
Chop the peaches up in medium chunks. Don't bother to peel them, but remove the pit.
Place the peaches in a large sauce pan and add the water. Bring it to a boil. Boil for about 15 minutes or until very soft.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the tea bags. Let them steep for about 4 minutes. You don't want to do this too long. Tea can become bitter, so remove and toss the tea bags.
Add the Splenda or regular sugar to taste. I used a heaping 1/2 cup of Splenda. I like sweet tea, but not syrup tea as is frequently served in the south. Stir to combine. Add a few ice cubes to cool the tea a bit more.
Pour the peach tea mixture through a strainer into a pitcher filled with ice. Use the back of a spoon to mash the softened peaches and get as much flavor into the tea as you can. Discard the remainder of peach and peel.
Stir to chill and serve over ice. Or place in the refrigerator for a treat all day long.
I also enjoy iced tea in warm weather, and agree that Splenda drink mixes can get costly. We recently discovered the single serve variety in which you add a small packet to a bottle of water. Thankfully, most grocery stores have their own varieties which are less costly than name brands. In brewing my own iced tea, I mix flavored tea bags with plain tea bags and have had some unusual (and tasty) results. The latest was caramel apple tea. I also use powdered Splenda to save calories for something else!
ReplyDeleteWe do it the easy way, which was how folks in Arizona do it. Set a large glass jar out in the sunshine filled with water, add a few large Lousian tea bags in it and let the sun work it's magic. When done simply pour over ice with a slice of lemon. Easy peasy.... My husband has never used sweetener in his tea, and I left the habit behind a few weeks ago. Your peach tea does sound delicious.
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